Dream Song Contest 10
If you want to join, send an e-mail to battlevisionsongcontest@gmail.com. |interval = Kejsi Tola - "Iceberg" |opening = Era Istrefi - "Bon bon" |exsupervisor = Liam |entries = 25 |debut = |return = |withdraw = |map = TBA |col2 = #d40000 |tag2 = Participants that failed to qualify to the final |col3 = #ffc20e |tag3 = Past participants that did not participate |null = TBA |vote = Like Eurovision |winner = TBA |con = Dream Song Contest |pre = 9 |nex = 11}} Host The Qemal Stafa Stadium (Albanian: Stadiumi Qemal Stafa), named after Qemal Stafa a World War II hero, was a national stadium and the largest football stadium in Tirana, Albania. Construction started in 1939 and the stadium was inaugurated in 1946 for the Balkan Cup, which was won by the Albania national football team. The stadium has been used for football matches of the Albanian Superliga and the national team, athletic events, and the six Albanian Spartakiads. Although it was enlarged in 1974 to accommodate up to 35,000 spectators, in the 1990s it became an all-seater stadium, and its capacity was reduced to the current 19,700. The stadium was demolished in June 2016 to make way to new national stadium. A new stadium called the National Arena (Albanian: Arena Kombetare) will constructed on the same site of the former Qemal Stafa Stadium and planned to open in 2018. The Football Association of Albania and the Albanian government will divide the property rights of the stadium between them; the football association will hold 75% rights and the government 25%. National Arena, with a capacity of over 22,500 spectators will be built at a cost of €60 million. The new stadium will be football-only; the athletics track will be removed and it is expected to meet the highest UEFA category. The original stadium was built in an Olympic Stadium shape, as idealized by Gerardo Bozio, a young fascist architect from Florence, Italy. Its planned capacity was 15,000; Tirana at that time had less than 60,000 inhabitants so the stadium would have been more than sufficient. The stadium was originally designed in an elliptical shape and was to have been completely clad in marble. Galeazzo Ciano symbolically placed the first stone in August 1939. Construction lasted four years; work was interrupted in 1943 after the Capitulation of Italy. During the German invasion of Albania the stadium was used by the occupying German forces to store vehicles and equipment. After World War II, 400 workers and 150 daily volunteers finished construction of the stadium. The planned marble cladding was only installed on one stand. The stadium was named after Qemal Stafa, a Hero of Albania in World War II. The inauguration occurred when the Albania national football team played in the stadium for the first time on 7 October 1946, when the Balkan Cup was organized. The Cup was won by Albania; they overcame teams like Yugoslavia, Bulgaria, and Romania in that competition. Afterwards the stadium was used for the Albanian Superliga matches, athletics events, and the six Albanian Spartakiads. View on the stadium from Italy square The second football stadium in Tirana, the Selman Stërmasi stadium, was built in 1959 but by the late 1960s and early 1970s, the stadium's capacity was still not sufficient to meet the growing needs of the Albanian Superliga. The Qemal Stafa stadium was thus enhanced for the 30th anniversary of the Liberation of Albania in 1974. One of the stands was extended from 10 to 28 rows, taking the capacity of the stadium to 35,000 (no seats were installed at that time). An electronic display purchased in Hungary was also added.6 The enlargement of the stadium was celebrated in November 1974, on the occasion of the Third National Spartakiad. After 1991, other modernization projects took place, including the installation of seats which reduced the capacity to today's 19 700. In 1996, Qemal Stafa had illumination for evening sports event for the first time, with the funding being a gift from UEFA. In 2008 the stadium was revamped with new areas for anti-doping procedures and internet rooms were added for journalists. The stadium is used by the Albania national football team and for the home games of Tirana-based Albanian football clubs: KF Tirana, Partizani, and Dinamo. Participants